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There are pages dedicated to wholesome pictures. There are pages dedicated to funny pictures and memes. And then there are those who explore the world of cursed images. They're for pictures that have something unsettling in them, but they're still funny enough to get a chuckle or two out of you.

So, today, we're dedicating a post to the Cursed Memes Instagram page. A little bit mysterious, a tad funny, but 100% cursed – that's what this page aims for. If you're familiar with the concept, you'll probably avoid these during mealtime or before sleep. But morbid curiosity will probably get the best of you, so scroll away and check out what people on the other side of the Internet are doing.

#1

Remember Where You Parked The House

Remember Where You Parked The House

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Lesley Relph
Community Member
6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I did a search - the landslip is genuine - in Taiwan in 2010, but the house is photoshopped on.

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    #3

    He Do The Peek

    He Do The Peek

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    Cursed images are not downright gross and scary. They only have a hint of the disturbing or the unsettling. To each their own, of course: some people love the movie Terrifier and its follow-up for the graphic and gross-out violence. Others are terrified (wink, wink) at the thought of seeing blood, even if on screen.

    Experts say that we respond more strongly to disgusting or gross stimuli than to something emotionally neutral. Some argue that it's an evolutionary response: we avoid things that we're scared of or that disgust us. That's why it captures our attention: for safety reasons.

    #4

    There Is No Gravity Anymore

    There Is No Gravity Anymore

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    But since cursed images aren't outright disgusting and scary, they're more of a "constrained risk." That's a term used to describe things like rollercoasters or spicy food. Things people can enjoy without actually being in physical danger. At least, that's what psychologist Nina Strohminger suggests.

    "Any negative feeling has the potential to be enjoyable when it is stripped of the belief that what is happening is actually bad," she writes. "Leaving behind physiological arousal that is, in itself, exhilarating or interesting." When we look at cursed images, we know that none of the subjects in them are in any danger. More often than not, they're manufactured for the Internet and other netizens to enjoy.

    #8

    The Elements

    The Elements

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    The more interesting question is why we can't look away when we see a cursed image or want to see even more. The popularity of the infamous 50/50 subreddit in the 2010s can be one extreme example of our morbid curiosity. Cursed images are a tamer version of that. A creator of a cursed images page on Instagram explained the phenomena to Paper: "We love that tolerable forbidden zone, not too disgusting to turn around, but weird enough to keep us looking."

    #11

    I Bring You A New Religion

    I Bring You A New Religion

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    #12

    Stealth 100

    Stealth 100

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    Susie Elle
    Community Member
    6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is SushiRamenRiku, who has a youtube channel where he does stuff like this to mess with his grandparents, among other very random and comical things.

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    Ryan Milner, an assistant professor in communications at the College of Charleston and author of The World Made Meme, has another theory. He says we like them because they're scary and creepy. Ultimately, they make us feel something, and that's their main appeal. "[They provoke] different emotions that make us feel something. And we share what makes us feel something."

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    #14

    You Have Been Detained

    You Have Been Detained

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    #15

    Oh Damn He Thicc

    Oh Damn He Thicc

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    cursedcarver69 🇺🇲🇩🇰🇬🇺
    Community Member
    6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If I'm reading his little armband right, then this fellow is Italian, and all of their police uniforms look like they just stepped out of a pride parade.

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    Milner traces the origins to cursed images to Creepypastas. "The thing around Creepypasta stuff is that sometimes it blurs the lines between genuinely, earnestly supposed to be scary and something that's scary but also playful and funny. You can get that with cursed images as well, that balance between stuff that's supposed to be scary, that's supposed to make you raise your eyebrows, stuff that is striking and funny in a really kind of morbid way."

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    #16

    He Be A Lil Too Baked

    He Be A Lil Too Baked

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    #17

    Oh God, Batons Got Worse

    Oh God, Batons Got Worse

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    #18

    On His Way To Shreks Adventure In London

    On His Way To Shreks Adventure In London

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    Food is often involved in cursed images. Már Másson Maack writes that the purpose of food in cursed pictures is to remind us of our mortality and solidify our lack of agency in this world. "Food crosses the boundaries of our bodies and we're sickeningly dependent on it, reminding us we're never fully in control of our surroundings or an independent force in this world."

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    By featuring food, cursed pics remind us of the invisible truth that we consciously try to think about as rarely as possible. We're just a glob of flesh full of millions of parasitic organisms floating through time and space. "They poke a hole in the lie we constantly tell ourselves that we're completely cerebral beings, above the filthiness surrounding the lives of animals," Maack writes.

    #22

    The Pez Dispenser

    The Pez Dispenser

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    lisa m
    Community Member
    6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If my staunch catholic mother saw this she would have to go.tp confession

    Frank Tereschak
    Community Member
    6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    No need to leave your pew, just raise your hand and open your mouth.

    Cindy Brinker
    Community Member
    6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Where’s the wine dispenser? I’m thinking those wafers have been in there just a little too long

    MalibuClassicMan
    Community Member
    6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    well it is a lot more sanitary than everyone sticking their germie fingers in the bowl, must have been during "Covid"

    Bill Swallow
    Community Member
    6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Should put the wafers in one of those chrome belt-mounted change makers...

    paigeofcolors
    Community Member
    6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Ah I remember these. Pez(es?) and some good ol' warm grape juice

    _-DungeonKeeper-_
    Community Member
    6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm about to make more bad puns... this is already perfect. It can't be cruci-fixed. Those strange ones that don't fit in the container, though, are PEZts. Unbelievable.

    axle f
    Community Member
    6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    ...so that's a...eucharest cartridge, on the right? a live eucharest cartridge? I'm tellin' you, those things are dangerous..

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    #24

    Who Lives In A In A In A In A

    Who Lives In A In A In A In A

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    AJay
    Community Member
    6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Who lives in a pineapple under a pineapple, under a pineapple, under a pineapple, under a pineapple...

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    But 'cursed' doesn't necessarily mean gross. It can just be slightly disturbing. As Jenny Odell, the author of How to Do Nothing, told The New Yorker, "'Cursed' brings to mind a sort of unholy juxtaposition—things that shouldn't be together, in a way that makes the whole thing feel senseless."

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    This can mean two things together that just feel deeply wrong when they are together. Because of its tamed nature when compared to other gross things that exist on the Internet, she calls cursed pics 'normcore horror.'

    #25

    I Caught A Karen

    I Caught A Karen

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    sbj
    Community Member
    6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    She's only looking happy because now she's got another thing to complain about

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    Cursed images put us off. As Már Másson Maack goes on in his piece about cursed pictures, they're about presenting familiar things in an unfamiliar light. Sometimes even literally: flash photography is a big part of the cursed image aesthetic, giving it even more of a DIY feel. The point of it is to enhance our perception of the familiar, Maack explains.

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    If you're a fan of cursed energy, we here at Bored Panda might have more things to your taste. There are pages dedicated to cursed foods. Even comments can be cursed, too. If you like venturing into the uncanny valley, cursed toys might be for you. And if you want to cleanse your palette after this possibly disturbing list, you can do so while looking at blursed images. They're pics that give off a blessed and cursed energy at the same time.

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    #32

    Feeding The Danger Noodle The Regular Noodle

    Feeding The Danger Noodle The Regular Noodle

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    #33

    Love A Bit Of Battery Acid

    Love A Bit Of Battery Acid

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    Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa)
    Community Member
    6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    There was an alcoholic energy drink back when I was in college called Sparks. It looked like a battery and tasted like Flintstone vitamins.

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    #34

    The Walk Of Destiny

    The Walk Of Destiny

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    #37

    Always Watching

    Always Watching

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    TheGoodBoi
    Community Member
    6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Add that to the nightmare fuel. It’s currently 1:55 for me, let’s see what else we can add

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    #39

    He Is Trying To Escape Being Eaten

    He Is Trying To Escape Being Eaten

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    #42

    Mario Having A Midlife Crisis

    Mario Having A Midlife Crisis

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    #46

    Someones Gunna Get Fired

    Someones Gunna Get Fired

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    #50

    My New Tattoo, What Ya Think

    My New Tattoo, What Ya Think

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    #52

    Who Commissioned This?? And Where Can I Get One

    Who Commissioned This?? And Where Can I Get One

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    #53

    Picture Of Me Uploading This Meme

    Picture Of Me Uploading This Meme

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    Malek Basata
    Community Member
    6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Imagine flipping your whole car just to text the boys about it, that's the cold blood i need

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    #55

    Uhhhhh, Should We Tell Him?

    Uhhhhh, Should We Tell Him?

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    #57

    Pray To The One True Lord

    Pray To The One True Lord

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    #60

    Reject Society

    Reject Society

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    #62

    Join The Crusty Discord In My Description

    Join The Crusty Discord In My Description

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    #64

    Italian Wheels

    Italian Wheels

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    Ty Stratton-Quirk
    Community Member
    6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I don't know anything about cars, but I'm about 70% sure that's not an acceptable alternative to a tire.

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    #70

    Bouta Be Hit With The Biggest Boi

    Bouta Be Hit With The Biggest Boi

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    #71

    Vanilla Swirl

    Vanilla Swirl

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    #75

    What Phone She Holding Tho

    What Phone She Holding Tho

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    #76

    The Council Shall Decide Your Fate

    The Council Shall Decide Your Fate

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    #77

    Just Me And The Bois

    Just Me And The Bois

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    Coral
    Community Member
    6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If not for the egregious food waste... ugh, actually I can't get past the egregious food waste.

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    #79

    The Forbidden Chilli

    The Forbidden Chilli

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    Coral
    Community Member
    6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I saw him recently in real life. My first and only celebrity sighting. He was eating at the restaurant where we celebrated our elopement. He had a small entourage. I googled and found out he lives in the same county as me.

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